Spirit Of New Orleans

Helsinki based Spirit Of New Orleans a.k.a. SONO was founded in the fall of 2001. The band's goal is to play New Orleans jazz as it is played in jazz's birthplace today. The music scene in New Orleans is still very vibrant - even after Katrina - and the city has numerous jazz bands playing in different styles. These bands like the Leroy Jones Quintet, Kermit Ruffins & The Barbecue Swingers, Bob French's Original Tuxedo Jazz Band and others are the inspiration for SONO. The aim is to play hip, funky, hard-swinging, yet traditional jazz that will get the people dancing and feeling good - not forgetting the artistic standards.

During its first years Spirit Of New Orleans has been working with Leroy Jones, one of New Orleans' finest trumpeters, with the very fine vocalists Tricia Boutté and Yolanda Windsay from New Orleans and Miriam Aïda from Sweden, and with Finnish singers Eeppi Ursin and Susanna Mesiä. The band has performed at many major Finnish jazz festivals (Pori Jazz, Imatra Big Band Festival, Linna-Jazz, Baltic Jazz, Korpo Sea Jazz, Ruskaswing, Ylläs Jazz Blues, Kalott Jazz & Blues, Jazz by The Sea, Otava Happy Jazz, etc.) and at various clubs, including Storyville and Sture Jazz Clubs in Helsinki. The reception has been very positive everywhere: both the audience and the promoters have enjoyed SONO's music. In the spring of 2004, SONO made a two-week tour in Fiji and New Zealand and in July 2004 the band played at one of the biggest festivals for traditional jazz in Europe, the JazzAscona New Orleans & Classics in Switzerland.

SONO's repertoire includes many classic songs that are rarely heard outside of New Orleans. The oldest songs that SONO plays hail from the early 1900's and are part of a standard traditional repertoire in New Orleans. "Mobile Stomp", "Bogalusa Strut", "Panama Rag", and "Fidgety Feet" all represent the early years of jazz. SONO also plays songs that have been composed by New Orleans' artists in the recent years - Leroy Jones' "Carnival's In Town" and Kermit Ruffins' "Meet Me At The Second Line" are prime examples of the continuing tradition.

The band's latest CD "Some Of These Days" featuring Eeppi Ursin and Leroy Jones was released in May 2006. SONO's first CD "Bogalusa Strut" came out in the summer of 2002. Both CDs have received a lot of airplay, especially on the WWOZ jazz station. The regular lineup of the band is a quintet: Risto Salmi - saxophone, Katja Toivola - trombone, Jarkko Palokas - guitar, Jussi Harju - sousaphone, and Thomas Rönnholm - drums.

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